"CCHS - Founding Program Director Occupational Therapy Associate/Full Professor ? Tenure/Tenure Track - 527974"

Position Summary

The University of Alabama invites applications and nominations for the Founding Program Director of its new Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD) program. Pending approval by The Board of Trustees of The University of Alabama, the OTD program will fill a distinct need for care and tap into a pipeline of interested and qualified students. We seek an entrepreneurial and visionary student-centered leader, practitioner, and scholar to build a nationally distinctive program aligned with CCHS' founding mission that expands access to high-quality occupational therapy for areas of need, including rural communities across Alabama and the Southeast. The Founding Program Director will build the program from the ground up, leading all aspects of program development, accreditation, operations, and strategic growth, and providing input on facilities. CCHS is vibrant and growing with academic program offerings in Rural Community Health, Population Health Sciences, Translational Science and Medicine, and several programs on the horizon. CCHS is home to a nationally renowned Sports Medicine Clinic and Sports Medicine Fellowship for Family Medicine Physicians. CCHS also houses Family Medicine and Psychiatry Residency Programs and Family Medicine Residency Fellowships in Geriatrics, Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Psychiatry, and Emergency Medicine. The University Medical Center (UMC) within CCHS is a network of multidisciplinary clinics and hospitalists serving communities across West Alabama with approximately 300,000 patient encounters annually. Appointments to the faculty of The University of Alabama are based on the personnel requirements of the University’s academic programs and on the goal of achieving and maintaining excellence in its teaching, research, and service/academic citizenship activities.

Detailed Position Information

Founding Program Director, Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD) - Associate or Full Professor (tenure-track/tenured or clinical track), commensurate with qualifications or exceptional candidates at advanced Assistant Professor rank.

Leadership & Administration

• Establish and articulate the OTD program’s mission, goals, and strategic plan with a strong focus on areas of need in the state, including rural regions.
• Recruit, hire, mentor, and evaluate core and associated faculty and staff; foster a collaborative and innovative culture of excellence in teaching, practice, research, and service.
• Oversee budget planning and fiscal management; allocate resources to support academic quality and student success.
• Ensure effective internal and external communication with UA leadership, faculty, students, clinical partners, alumni, and community stakeholders.
• Direct supervisory responsibilities for faculty and staff in the unit.
• Oversee student recruitment, retention, and success efforts.

Accreditation & Compliance

• Lead all activities to achieve and maintain ACOTE accreditation (self-study, assessment system, outcomes reporting, site-visit preparation, and continuous quality improvement).
• Ensure ongoing compliance with ACOTE Standards and Required Elements, institutional policies, and applicable state regulations.

Curriculum, Assessment & Student Success

• Design and implement a competency-based OTD curriculum that integrates rural/community-based clinical education and interprofessional practice.
• Build and sustain a robust clinical education network, with emphasis on areas of need, including rural settings across Alabama.
• Implement program evaluation and outcomes assessment (student learning, licensure, graduation, employment) and use results for continuous improvement.

External Engagement & Scholarship

• Cultivate partnerships with healthcare systems, community clinics, and rural providers to support clinical placements, service-learning, and pathway initiatives.
• Support faculty and student scholarship and seek extramural funding where appropriate.
• Represent the program at state, regional, and national meetings; advance the visibility and reputation of UA’s OTD program.

Minimum Qualifications

• Initially certified occupational therapist with an active, unencumbered OT license in a U.S. jurisdiction and eligibility for Alabama licensure.
• Doctoral Degree from a US Department of Education recognized institution (OTD, PhD, or equivalent).
• Minimum eight (8) years of OT experience that must include:
  • Clinical practice
  • Academic administrative experience (e.g., program planning and implementation, personnel management, evaluation, and budgeting)
  • Scholarship of application or teaching and learning
  • Understanding the role of the occupational therapy assistant
  • Four (4) years of experience as a faculty member with teaching, responsibilities at the postbaccalaureate level.
• Qualifications commensurate with Associate or Full Professor (tenure-track/tenured or clinical track), or exceptional candidates at advanced Assistant Professor rank.

Preferred Qualifications

• Sustained leadership in rural health, community-engaged practice, or service with rural populations (e.g., building rural clinical partnerships, rural pathway programs, or distributed clinical education).
• Success leading teams through initial ACOTE accreditation or substantial accreditation milestones.
• Experience creating, launching, or scaling new academic programs (faculty hiring, facilities planning, simulation, technology infrastructure).
• Documented professional development/education in educational theory and methodology, instructional design, student evaluation, and program/outcome assessment.
• Experience with program evaluation, curriculum development, and accreditation processes; working knowledge of ACOTE expectations and timelines.
• Evidence of interprofessional education/practice and collaborative partnerships with health systems and community organizations.
• Experience with grant writing, external funding, and/or practice-based research; familiarity with value-based and population-health models relevant to rural care.
• Active engagement in AOTA or related professional organizations.
• Mission-driven leadership.
• Strategic thinker who is organized, collaborative, and outcomes-oriented, with excellent communication skills.
• Relationship-builder who can galvanize clinical partners statewide to expand rural training sites and graduate a workforce responsive to Alabama’s needs.

Instructions and Required Materials for Application

1. Cover letter addressing qualifications and leadership vision.
2. Curriculum vitae.
3. Leadership statement (2–3 pages) describing experience with accreditation, faculty development, fiscal management, and program assessment.
4. Teaching statement and scholarly/clinical agenda (as appropriate to rank/track).
5. Names and contact information for three references (references will be contacted only with candidate’s consent).

Application review will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled. For questions, contact Dr. Caroline Boxmeyer, Senior Associate Dean of Academic Affairs at boxmeyer@ua.edu.

About the Division/College/School

The College of Community Health Sciences (CCHS) was founded in 1972 by William Willard, MD, author of the “Willard Report” and considered the “Father of Family Medicine,” with a mandate to train family physicians for Alabama, particularly its rural areas. The College also provides medical student education as the Tuscaloosa Regional Campus of the four-campus University of Alabama School of Medicine, based at UAB in Birmingham. The College’s mission focuses on improving the health of individuals and communities in Alabama and the region through leadership in medical education and primary care; the provision of high-quality, accessible health care services; and scholarship.

CCHS is sponsor of the UA Family Medicine Residency and seven fellowships for family physicians. The Residency, a 16-16-16 program now in its 45th year, is the second largest family medicine residency in the country. Of the more than 470 Residency graduates, 85% practice in the five-state area of the Southeast, with half in rural areas, and comprise 1 of 7 family physicians practicing in Alabama. Nearly 900 medical students have completed their clinical training at the College since 1974, entering Family Medicine and primary care careers at more than twice the national average.

The College’s nationally recognized Rural Pipeline Programs and the Institute for Rural Health Research, along with basic sciences, social sciences, and health professional faculty and resources on the UA campus and innumerable specialty and medical research faculty among the School of Medicine faculty, create a uniquely resource-rich environment for a medical educator. The College’s clinical enterprise also conducts 150,000 ambulatory visits and more than 10,000 admissions a year to a broad patient population, including UA faculty and staff and the general population of West Alabama.

For more information about the College, visit http://cchs.ua.edu